CLG Went From Bankruptcy to Earning Millions in LoL eSports

It has been just six months since American eSports team Counter Logic Gaming (CLG) was just two weeks from having to declare bankruptcy. The team made the decision to purse their dreams of playing competitively within the video game world, however, and it appears to be paying off at the moment.

CLG is now preparing themselves to participate in the League of Legends World Championships in Berlin, Germany. Should the competitive gaming team win this tournament, all five members will split a massive prize pool, which is currently up to $2.1 million for the entire event.

CLG, thankfully, also received a sponsorship deal from DraftKings, the daily fantasy sports website, which announced they were entering into the world of eSports recently.

DraftKings will be hosting their first eSports content as of today, October 1, for the beginning of League of Legends World Championships.

eSports, obviously, has grown into quite a phenomonen, and the story of CLG is incredibly similar to many other teams out there all vying for a massive prize pool by playing video games. The majority of eSports gamers consider participating in these tournaments as part of their hobby. Not a single player is guaranteed to win a single dime for their play time, but the chance of earning upwards of $40,000 per year is always present. That’s a full-time gig right there.

The lack of compensation – at least guaranteed compensation – has many competitive gaming teams on the brink of destruction due to their financials. Unfortunately, that makes a lot of players desperate to continue doing what they love. This means many are more than willing to accept a bribe from a bettor or fantasy eSports players who have too much money on their hands and want to make more by having a player throw the game.

Thankfully, the bankruptcy scare is no longer for CLG. DraftKings sponsorship ensured the five-man team could head to the World Championships without a problem. This event is going to attract over 25 million viewers, surpassing the average viewership of the 2014 World Series, NBA Finals, and the World Cup.

CLG Chief Executive Officer Devin Nash said:

For me, at least, there’s a lot of being cautious. I feel like as the money increases and as people in serious businesses turn their heads to the [eSports] industry, a lot of questionable business practices will be revealed. Without significant regulation and overarching leagues, there’s a lot of ‘Wild West’ mentality. You can be out the door in a matter of days or weeks depending on how teams go. Look at teams that were #1 in North America a year ago that are now rebuilding their teams. It is very much win or lose . . . not very much in-between.

Almost everything in life is a risk, though. This one just happened to turn out quite well for Nash and the rest of the League of Legends players on the team.

A recent study has shown that for every single player that made it big in eSports, thousands of others have failed and been sent home broke and upset.

eSports, however, continues to grow each and every year. We expect to see more and more players taking advantage of this growth soon.